Comfort when it's cold
by Faberrittanainthetardis
Summary: Spencer comforts Emily after Maya's death. Spemily friendship, possibly with subtle subtexty undertones.


_From prompt: Spemily. A million times Spemily: there's virtually nothing out there for the pairing. Maybe something about Spencer comforting Emily after Maya's death?_

**I already uploaded this to tumblr but I just remembered that I didn't upload it here. This was my first Spemily fic so…yeah. Hope you guys enjoy.**

"I'm going to stay with Emily." Spencer declared numbly as she watched the coroner's car drive off down the road. She stared silently after it for a moment, trying to grasp the events that had unfolded before finally shaking her head and turning back to Aria and Hanna. Emily's mom had led the distraught girl inside only a few minutes earlier but Spencer felt an undeniable urge to go after her "You guys should go home."

Hanna and Aria started to protest immediately and Spencer quickly held up a hand to stop them "Don't argue with me."

"We're not leaving Emily alone." Hanna stated, looking disgusted at even the prospect of doing such a thing.

"I agree." Aria nodded firmly "You saw the state she was in, Spencer."

"She's not going to be alone." Spencer assured them "I'm going to be here with her."

"I want to be here too." Hanna frowned miserably "I don't want to be alone after everything that happened tonight and I don't want Emily to think that we're deserting her or something."

Spencer rubbed her temples, feeling the onset of a headache and mentally cursed Hanna's stubborn loyalty "I'm not saying you should go home alone, Hanna. I just don't think that you should be around Emily right now."

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?" Hanna asked irritably.

Aria placed a hand on Hanna's arm in an attempt to calm her down but she too stared at Spencer questioningly.

"Emily is upset." Spencer explained impatiently "And so are you after what happened with…" Hanna flinched and Spencer hesitated unsurely "After everything that happened tonight."

"Which is why we should all stay here with Emily."

Spencer cast a longing look towards Emily's house before turning back to Hanna and Aria "That's exactly why we _shouldn't_ all stay here. I know you Hanna. Seeing Emily cry is just going to make _you_ cry and you crying will just make Emily more upset than she already is."

Hanna paused for a moment, well aware of the fact that Spencer was right but she nonetheless continued to argue "Like you're doing a great job of not crying yourself."

"I-"Spencer lifted a hand to her cheek and swiped at the sticky drying tears she could feel "I can hold myself together."

"Well so can I-"

"Damn it Hanna, just stop fighting me on this!"

Hanna and Aria stared at Spencer in silence, somewhat taken aback by her sudden yelling.

"I'm sorry." Spencer apologised quietly "I'm just worried about Emily."

"Spence, we're all worried about Emily." Aria pointed out as calmly as she could.

"I know…" Spencer ran a hand agitatedly through her hair "I know."

They fell into silence for a couple of seconds before Hanna relented "I'm coming back first thing tomorrow morning and nobody is going to stop me."

"Of course." Spencer nodded in agreement "Thanks Han."

Hanna sighed, clearly not happy with the situation but gave Spencer a tight hug "Tell Emily we love her."

"I will." Spencer promised as Hanna pulled away.

"And if either of you need us give one of us a call." Aria added "We'll be at my place."

Spencer nodded quickly, eager to get back to Emily "Sure." She watched as Aria turned to walk away but Hanna stayed glued the spot, her gaze fixed miserably on Emily's front door "Hanna?"

"I'm going." Hanna huffed before dutifully turning to Aria who had stopped to wait for her a couple of feet away. When she reached her Hanna linked an arm through the shorter girls, allowing herself to be tugged away from the house.

Spencer watched them go before whirling around and jogging up the porch to Emily's front door. She knocked on the door and nervously awaited a response. After what seemed like hours but was more than likely only a minute or so the door opened to reveal Pam standing there, a weary expression on her face.

"Oh…Spencer."

"Can I see Emily?" Spencer asked hopefully.

Pam looked away for a moment, a veil of emotion washing over her features "I don't think she wants to be disturbed at the moment. She's…she's locked herself in her room."

"Can I try?" Spencer pleaded "Please Mrs Fields? If I can't get through to her, I'll leave."

Pam nodded and opened the door a fraction wider, allowing Spencer to pass.

"Thank you." Spencer muttered before heading towards the stairs. She took them two at a time in her hurry to get to the top and rushed towards Emily's bedroom door without missing a beat. The sound of sobs was already audible and Spencer felt a sharp pang in her chest at the thought of what her friend was going through. When she reached Emily's door, she took a moment to compose herself before lifting her hand to knock. The sobs halted abruptly and Spencer held her breath.

"I don't want to talk." Emily choked out, her voice hoarse from crying "Leave me alone."

Spencer placed her palm flat on the door "Emily, it's me. Can I come in?"

"…Spencer?"

"Yeah." Spencer confirmed quietly. She tried the door only to find that it was indeed locked "Will you let me in?" she heard Emily pad over to the door and a moment later the sound of the door unlocking reached her ears. Spencer opened the door herself and stepped inside of the room to find Emily walking back over to her bed "Hey."

Emily sat down heavily on the edge of her bed "Hey."

Spencer pushed the door closed behind her and took a step closer to the bed. Emily was adamantly avoiding looking at her, her watery eyes fixed firmly on the ground "Emily."

Emily hesitated for a moment before looking up to meet Spencer's sympathetic gaze. She managed to hold herself together for a matter of seconds before she felt tears spring to her eyes and a lump formed in her throat.

Spencer immediately moved over to Emily and sat down next to her, wrapping her arms around her shoulders. She pulled Emily's head to her chest as the distraught girl broke into sobs again and unconsciously rocked back and forth in an attempt to soothe her. Spencer felt tears spring to her own eyes but stubbornly pushed them back, willing herself to be strong for her friend. She tightened her embrace by a fraction and pressed her lips to the top of Emily's head, her other hand rubbing soothing circles on the sobbing brunette's back. She continued the slow, deliberate actions in silence until Emily's heart wrenching sobs quietened to soft whimpers and silent tears. They sat in the same position for a few minutes until Spencer realised that Emily was shaking in her arms from more than emotion "Em? Are you cold?" Emily didn't respond and Spencer carefully pushed her back to look at her. She bit her lip as she took in the sight of Emily's reddened eyes and tearstained cheeks "Emily?" she placed her hand on Emily's cheek and gently forced their eyes to meet. The grief and pain in Emily's eyes was enough to make Spencer flinch and she quickly decided that trying to get Emily to talk was probably futile. She stood up from the bed and Emily startled slightly.

"I'm not going anywhere." Spencer assured her knowingly. She took Emily's hands and pulled her up from the bed into a standing position "I'm going to help you out of this, okay?"

Emily didn't respond but her brow furrowed slightly. Taking that as a sign of acknowledgement, Spencer turned her around and moved her hand to the top of Emily's dress. She gripped the zip between two fingers and carefully pulled it down to the bottom of Emily's back.

"Okay…" She murmured, not because she was sure that Emily was listening to her but more because the silence was making her nervous "I'll get you something to change into."

Emily turned around to watch Spencer walk towards the drawers across the room but still she didn't respond.

Spencer picked out a pair of thin sweatpants and a shirt before turning back around. She faltered slightly when her eyes met Emily's but quickly regained her composure and walked back over to her.

"I can do it myself." Emily whispered embarrassedly as she reached for the bundle of clothes in Spencer's hand.

"I don't mind helping." Spencer assured her quietly without letting go of the clothes.

Emily hesitated for a moment before releasing her grip. She felt like the shock was making it difficult to control her limbs so the help wasn't at all unwanted. "If you're sure…"

"I am." Spencer whispered before moving her hands to carefully pull the dress down Emily's hips with a light tug. It pooled at her feet and Spencer reached out to grasp Emily's hands to help her step out of it, consciously keeping her gaze fixed above the other girl's shoulders. She grabbed the T-shirt off the bed and helped Emily into it while keeping her gaze fixed in the respectable location.

Emily was slightly embarrassed by the attentive care but her emotions were far too muddled for her to pay much attention to it so she meekly allowed Spencer to help her into her sweatpants.

Spencer reached around Emily and carefully removed the hair tie from her hair, allowing it to fall freely over her shoulders. She pulled back the covers and guided Emily under the covers before pulling them securely over her to warm her up.

"You're leaving?" Emily asked hoarsely as Spencer stood back up from the bed and took a few steps to the door.

"No." Spencer answered quietly as she unzipped her own dress. She allowed it to fall to the ground before glancing over her shoulder "Can I burrow something to wear?"

Emily offered a nod and Spencer grabbed a T-shirt and pair of shorts to pull on. As soon as she was ready she flicked off the light, walked back over to the bed and slipped under the covers next to Emily.

"Where are Hanna and Aria?" Emily asked quietly as the silence once again engulfed them.

"I sent them home." Spencer whispered in response "They wanted to stay but I figured you wouldn't want too many people around right now."

"Yeah."

"They send their love though." Spencer added carefully.

A soft sniffle sounded and Spencer turned her head to look at Emily "Emily?"

"She died because of me." Emily whispered, her gaze fixed intently on the ceiling "Maya…"

"Em, you don't know that." Spencer turned onto her side and shuffled closer to her friend "We don't even know if it was A…Mona who…"

"Yes, we do." Emily interrupted sharply "Mona killed Maya because she was important to _me_. Because I loved her. If…" her voice caught in her throat and she trailed off, closing her eyes. Tears trailed from her eyes down her temples and Spencer automatically swiped them away "If Maya hadn't met me, she-she would still be alive."

"Emily…"

"She would." Emily turned face Spencer "This is…it's all my fault."

For once in her life Spencer found herself at a loss for words so she did the only thing she could. She pulled Emily close and held her as tightly as possible.

"Spence…"

"I know." Spencer whispered as Emily trailed off and shook with silent sobs "I know Em." She felt Emily's hand clench the back of her shirt and held onto her even tighter "It's not your fault. It's not. it's not your fault…" she continued to whisper the soft assurances until the grip on the back of her shirt eased and Emily's breathing slowed to a steady rhythm. Convinced that Emily was asleep Spencer finally allowed her own silent tears to fall for her friend's pain. She planted a soft kiss on Emily's head and closed her eyes until sleep overtook her.

THE END


End file.
